Showing 169 results

Sinclair, John Percy, son of Percy Walter Sinclair of Cheam, Surrey, and Florence Annette, d. of Michael Hobson of Middlesbrough; b. 31 May 1920; adm. Jan. 1934 (R); left Dec. 1937; Roy. Sig­nals; d. on active service 6 Nov. 1940.

John Percy Sinclair was born at Cheam, Surrey on the 31st of May 1920 the son of Percy Walter Sinclair, a tea taster, and Florence Annette (nee Hobson) Sinclair of “Cooden”, 20, Salisbury Avenue, Cheam. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from January 1934 to December 1937.
He is buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery Grave P 277.

Plaistowe, Ralph Cuthbert, son of Cuthbert Plaistowe of Ealing and Christine Lilian, d. of Ralph Callard of Ealing; b. 6 Dec. 1911; adm. Sept. 1925 (H); left July 1930; Queens' Coll. Camb., matric. 1930, BA 1933; a chartered accountant, ACA 1937; practised in London and Leamington Spa; Sgt RAFVR, killed in action 1 Sep. 1941.

Ralph Cuthbert Plaistowe was born at Ealing, Middlesex on the 6th of December 1911 the elder son of Cuthbert Plaistowe, managing director of a fruit preserve and confectionary manufacturer, and Christine Lilian (nee Callard) Plaistowe of “Mansfield”, Elgin Road, Weybridge in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1925 to July 1930. He matriculated for Queens’ College, Cambridge in 1930 where he graduated with a BA in 1933. He went to work as a chartered accountant and qualified ACA in 1937. He practiced in London and at Leamington Spa. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 16362) at Brooklands Flying Club on the 1st of October 1938 while flying a Tiger Moth aircraft. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant.
On the 1st of September 1941 Bomber Command dispatched 34 Wellingtons and 20 Hampdens for an operation on Cologne. The weather was clear and returning crews reported that they saw a number of fires on the ground but many of these were German decoy fires. The German authorities reported that one house was damaged in the city and that there were no casualties on the ground.
Ralph Plaistowe and his crew took off from RAF Scampton at 8.13pm on the 1st of September 1941 in Hampden Mk I AE187 OL-L for the operation. They crossed the English coast at Orfordness. The aircraft was shot down by an enemy night fighter flown by Oberleutnant Wilhem “Willi” Dimter of 3./NJG1 and crashed at Deurne, Noord Brabant, 9 kilometres to the east south east of Helmond in Holland at 11.47pm with the loss of the entire crew. Theirs was the fourth victory of an eventual eight victories for Willi Dimter before he was killed in action on the 7th of September 1942.
The crew was: -
Sergeant James Hughes (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Adrian John Somerville-Woodiwis (Navigator)
Sergeant Ralph Cuthbert Plaistowe (Pilot)
Sergeant Robert Buist Scott (Air Gunner)
Theirs was the only aircraft which failed to return from the raid.
The crew was buried at the Military Cemetery, Eindhoven on the 2nd of September 1941. Their bodies were exhumed for identification purposes and were reburied on the 23rd of April 1947.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Queens’ College, Cambridge and on the 1939-1945 Roll of Honour of Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Articled Clerks.
He is buried at Woensel General Cemetery, Eindhoven Plot JJ, Grave 35.

O'Sullivan, Cornelius Dion, son of Curtis Dion O'Sullivan (qv); b. 27 Apr. 1919; adm. May 1935 (A); left July 1935; Univ. of California; Lieut. USN (submarines); m. 12 May 1942 Katharine, d. of John Black of San Francisco; lost on active service in US submarine Triton (Pacific) 15 Mar 1944.

Cornelius Dion “Sully” O’Sullivan was born at San Francisco, California on the 27th of April 1919 the elder son of Colonel Curtis Dion O’Sullivan OW, United States Army, later Adjutant General of the State of California, and Helen (nee Hooper) O’Sullivan of 2717, Hearst Avenue, San Francisco. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from May to July 1935. He was admitted to US Naval Academy as a Midshipman Second Class on the 17th of June 1938.
He attended the University of California, Berkeley on a Lexington Scholarship in the Class of 1942, where he rowed for the University and was later appointed as Captain of Rowing. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and was a member of the orchestra.
His class had been due to graduate in February 1942 but instead graduated on the 19th of December 1941, due to the United States declaration of war on Japan on the 7th of December. He was promoted to Midshipman First Class in 1941and to Ensign on the 19th of December 1941. He was posted to the coastal and harbour defence submarine R-20 on the 31st of May 1942.
He was married at the United States Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis on the 19th of May 1942 to Kathryn (nee Black) of San Francisco.
He was later promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade and was posted to the submarine USS Triton as 2nd Navigator.
The USS Triton (SS-201), under the command of Lieutenant Commander George Kenneth Mackenzie Jr. USN, set sail from Brisbane, Australia on the 16th of February 1943 for what was to be her sixth patrol. She was to operate against enemy shipping in the area between Rabaul, the Shortlands Basin.
On the 6th of March the USS Triton attacked a Japanese convoy consisting of five merchant vessels escorted by a destroyer. During the attack she sank the cargo ship Kiriha Maru and damaged one other ship. Two nights later she attacked another enemy convoy and claimed that five of the eight torpedoes she had fired scored hits. She was unable to confirm this due to gunfire from the escorting destroyers which forced her to submerge.
On the 11th of March the USS Triton reported that she was stalking two convoys, each made up of five or more ships. She contacted the submarine USS Trigger (SS-237) which was operating in an adjacent area. She was ordered to remain to the south of the equator and to continue her pursuit. Two days later she received a warning from her base that three enemy destroyers were in the area and that they were either looking for convoys to attack or were hunting American submarines.
On the 15th of March 1943, USS Triton was off the Admiralty Islands to the north of New Guinea when she reported that she had attacked an enemy convoy and that she was under a depth charge attack by three Japanese destroyers. Nothing further was heard from the submarine, but post war Japanese records indicate that they had sunk a submarine that day in an area slightly to the north west of the USS Triton’s last reported position. One of the Japanese crews reported observing an oil slick, debris and items carrying American markings. The entire crew was lost in the attack. USS Trigger had also attacked the convoy and came under depth charge attack which eventually stopped. They reported afterwards that they heard continued depth charging some distance away which lasted about an hour.
The University of California wrote of him: - “Sully began college life at the University of California and has had little trouble standing at the top of the class. Sully climaxed four years of crew by becoming the Academy's No. 1 oarsman and captain. His unruly hair has been a problem, but he manages to divert attention with his contagious smile.”
He is commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery.

Newman, John Windrush, son of Frederick John Newman, of the Temple, barrister-at-law, by Margaret Levonia, daughter of William Stewart Mackenzie, of Killiecrankie, Perthshire: b. Oct. 23, 1901; adm. Sept. 23, 1915 (A); left March 1918; served in the R.A.F. in Great War I; in the employment of Harrisons and Crosfield, East India Merchants, Quilon, South India; Lieut. Royal Army Ordnance Corps Dec. 21, 1939; Major; served in France to the evacuation of Dunkirk, and in Egypt and Syria; mentioned in despatches (France and Flanders) L.G. Dec. 20, 1940; m. Sept. 1, 1941, Ethel Joan, daughter of Capt. James Mould, D.S.O., M.C., of Dudley, Worcestershire; d. while awaiting demobilisation July 23, 1945.

John Windrush Newman was born in London on the 23rd of October 1900 the son of Frederick John Newman KC, a merchant and barrister at law, and Margaret Levonia (nee Mackenzie) Newman of The Bungalow, Harlow in Essex. He was christened at St Andrew’s Church, Hammersmith on the 27th of July 1902. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from the 23rd of September 1915 to March 1918.
On leaving school he enlisted in the Royal Air Force at a Cadet Distribution Depot on the 2nd of May 1918. On leaving the Royal Air Force he joined the firm of Harrisons & Crosfield, East India Merchants of Quilon in South India. He became a company director and lived at 1, Harcourt Buildings, Temple in London and later at 2, Temple Gardens, in London. He was granted a Patent (No. 349,617) on the 1st of March 1930 for “Improvements in the signs and the like”.
He gained a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 18075) at Brooklands Flying Club on the 6th of May 1936 while flying a Tiger Moth aircraft.
Following the outbreak of war he was mobilised and was appointed as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on the 21st of December 1939. He served during the Battle of France in 1940 from where he was evacuated from Dunkirk. He also served in Egypt and Syria during his service.
He was married at Westminster on the 1st of September 1941 to Ethel Joan (nee Mould) of Kensington.
On the 22nd of July 1945, John Newman asked his commanding officer, Major Wilfred Sinclair, if he could borrow a Sten gun from the armoury. He was last seen on the following day by Warrant Officer Fenly Curtis, walking along a footpath towards Sileby, Leicestershire. He did not return to to his barracks and when his room was searched his suitcase was found to have been packed as he was due to be demobilised a short time later. Also found were three letters, one of which was addressed to Major Sinclair. A search party was formed which searched the area until 4am but returned without finding him. His body was later found in a field at Sileby with the Sten gun next to it and with two empty cartridges on the ground beside him.
An iquiry into his death was convened at Loughborough where the Coroner called several witnesses who testified that John Newman had been suffering from deafness which had led to him suffering from poor mental health for some time. The Coroner recorded a vedict of: - “Death from a self inflicted gunshot wound while the balance of his mind was disturbed.”
He was Mentioned in Despatches.
He is commemorated at Mortlake Crematorium, Panel 9.

Nares, Geoffrey Owen, brother of David Owen Nares (qv); b. 10 June 1917; adm. Sept. 1930 (G); left Apr. 1934; an actor and stage designer; first appeared (under his father's management) in The Winning Post at the Globe Theatre Dec. 1934; 2nd Lieut. RASC Oct. 1940, transf. 12 Lancers Aug. 1941; d. on active service 20 Aug. 1942.

Geoffrey Owen Nares was born at Hampstead, London on the 10th of June 1917 the younger son of Owen Ramsey Nares, an actor, and Marie (nee Polini) Nares, an actress, of 35, Hamilton Terrace, Westminster and of Highmoor in Oxfordshire. He was christened at St Augustine’s Church, Paddington on the 17th of November 1917. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1930 to April 1934. He won a Sir Henry Lucy Prize for Art in 1931. On leaving school he became an actor and a theatre designer, his first appearance being in the part of a stable boy in “The Winning Post”, starring Lawrence Olivier at the Adelphi Theatre on the 17th of December 1934. In June 1935 he played Kim Oldham in “Grief Goes Over” at the Globe Theatre and he played Martin Hilton in “Call it a Day” at the Glove Theatre, London in October of the same year which ran for more than a year; his father was also a member of the cast. As well as being an actor he was a designer of scenery for the stage and designed sets for “Candida”, “The Constant Wife”, ”Gaily We Set Out”, and “Blondie White”.
He enlisted as a Driver in the Royal Army Service Corps before being attending an Officer Producing School and being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 26th of October 1940. He transferred to the 12th Royal Lancers in August 1941 and was posted to the Middle East where he contracted pappataci (sand fly fever) and died from a brain tumour in hospital at Cairo.
He is buried at Heliopolis War Cemetery Plot 2 Row D grave 14

Nash, Alexander Desmond Michael Flight Lieutenant 102131
258 Squadron, Royal Air Force
Killed in action on the 19th of December 1943 aged 21
Alexander Desmond Michael Nash was born on the 22nd of November 1922 the son of Captain Christopher Michael Nash, a rubber planter, and Ethelinda Jarman (nee Clarke) Nash of 17, Mount Avenue, Ealing in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1936 to July 1939.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 23rd of July 1941. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 23rd of July 1942 and to Flight Lieutenant on the 23rd of July 1943. He was posted to 285 Squadron.
Alexander Nash took off at 2.45pm on the 19th of December 1943 in Hurricane Mk IIB BG688 with five other aircraft from his Squadron for a patrol over Dohazari. As they were climbing out after takeoff his aircraft collided with Hurricane Mk IIB PJ785 flown by Pilot Officer Peter Ireland Hickes. Both aircraft crashed and both pilots were killed. The remaining four aircraft completed their mission and returned to base at 4.20pm.
He is buried at Chittagong War Cemetery Plot 6, Row A, Grave 12.

Myers, Julian Gilbert Keydell, son of Gilbert Percival Louis Myers (qv); b. 26 Nov. 1914; adm. Sept. 1928 (B); left Dec. 1931; apprentice Furniss Withy Line 1932-5, later asst master Moffats Sch. Hatfield, Herts; Sgt Pilot RAFVR, killed in action 9 Dec 1940.

Julian Gilbert Keydell Myers was born in Capetown, South Africa on the 26th of November 1914 the eldest son of Major Gilbert Percival Louis Myers OW, Army Service Corps, and, Ada Sallie (nee Hutchins) Myers of 83, Vernon Road, Feltham in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1928 to December 1931. He was a member of the 1st Football XI in 1930 and 1931 where he played as goalkeeper. On leaving school he was accepted as an apprentice with the Furniss Withy Line and worked for them from 1932 to 1935. He later became an assistant schoolmaster at Moffat’s School, Hatfield in Hertfordshire. He was married at Maldon, Essex in 1938 to Frances Ellison (nee Fletcher) of Witham, Essex.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Sergeant.
On the 9th of December 1940 nine aircraft from 115 Squadron were detailed to attack enemy shipping in the harbours of Bordeaux and L’Orient.
Julian Myers and his crew took off from RAF Marham at 5.25pm on the 9th of December 1940 in Wellington Mk IC L7895 KO-G for the operation. Eight tons of bombs were dropped on the target “with good effect”.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Peter Bois (Pilot)
Sergeant Julian Gilbert Keydell Myers (2nd Pilot)
Pilot Officer Macdonald (Navigator)
Sergeant Livingstone (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Longden (Front Gunner)
Sergeant Pryor (Rear Gunner)
Three aircraft from the Squadron were lost during the operation.
Having completed its mission the aircraft landed safely back at RAF Marham where the crew disembarked and made their way to a van which was to transport them back to the station buildings. While they were doing this a sharp crack was heard and a few moments later a member of the ground crew found the body of Julian Myers who had been hit by the port propeller. His body was taken to the station mortuary.
His funeral took place on the 14th of December 1940.
He is buried at Holy Trinity Church, Marham Grave 56.

Montefiore, Langton, brother of Leslie Montefiore (q.v.); b. April 6, 1904; adm. Sept. 26 1918 (A); left Easter 1922; admitted a member of the London Stock Exchange 1927; 2nd Lieut. R.A.S.C. March 30, 1940; Capt.; m. June 2, 1927, Millicent, daughter of S. Lazarus, of St. Marylebone; killed on active service in Greece 27 April 1941.

Langton Montefiore was born at Chartridge, Buckinghamshire on the 6th of April 1904 the second son of Harry John Montefiore, a stockbroker and member of the London Stock Exchange, and Harriet (nee Montefiore) Montefiore of Chartridge Grange, near Chesham, later of “Fingest”, near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from the 26th of September 1918 and Easter 1922. He was a member of the Debating Society in 1921. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Corporal in September 1921. On leaving school he went to work as a stockbroker and was admitted as a Member of the London Stock Exchange in 1927. He was married at Marylebone on the 2nd of June 1927 to Millicent (nee Lazarus) and they lived at 80, Eaton Place in London and at “Valley Holme”, Horsted Keynes in Sussex. They had a son, born on the 6th of May 1928. Following the outbreak of war he was appointed as a Deputy Area Officer for Air Raid Precautions. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps on the 30th of March 1940.
At 7pm on the 24th of April 1941, a convoy of trucks of the 308th Reserve Motor Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps left Argos, Greece to head for Kalamata where they were to be evacuated to Egypt following the collapse of the Allied resistance to the German invasion of Greece. Driver T/199458 F.G. Lee reported that Major James Garrard Black, 2nd Lieutenant J.M. Carroll Lieutenant Mansfield, Langton Montefiore and about 100 men were among those who remained at Argos from where they made their way to the beaches in Nauplia Bay to await evacuation to Crete. They boarded the 11, 636 ton passenger liner SS Slamat, under the command of Master Tjalling Luidinga, on the night of the 26th/27th of April and set sail at 4.15am on the 27th of April. SS Slamat sailed south as part of a convoy and was in the Argolic Gulf when the convoy was attacked firstly by Messerschmitt Bf109 fighters and then by Junkers 87, Junkers 88 and Dornier 17 bombers at 7.15am. During the attack SS Slamat was struck between the bridge and the forward funnel by a 550lb bomb and was set on fire. As she listed to starboard, she was hit by a second bomb and the order was given to abandon the ship. With many of life boats and life rafts having been destroyed in the bombing, most of the survivors swam clear of the sinking ship with two overcrowded life boats capsizing. Some of the survivors were machine gunned in the water by enemy fighters. The destroyer HMS Diamond began taking survivors on board but was forced to stop and speed away when she too came under attack from enemy aircraft. HMS Diamond returned at 8.15am to rescue more survivors and at 9.16am the destroyer HMS Wryneck was ordered to join her in the rescue of the men in the water. At 9.25am HMS Diamond reported that she had picked up most of the survivors and was heading for Souda Bay but, when HMS Wryneck joined HMS Diamond at 11am both of the destroyers returned to SS Slamat where they found two more lifeboats and rescued their occupants. With SS Slamat on fire from stem to stern, she was scuttled by HMS Diamond with a single torpedo before the destroyer left the area with around 600 survivors on board. It is believed that Langton Montefiore was among those who were rescued from the water by the two destroyers.
At 1.15pm, a formation of Junkers 87 “Stuka” dive bombers attacked the two destroyers from out of the sun,with two bombs landing on HMS Diamond destroying her lifeboats and she sank eight minutes later. HMS Wryneck was hit by three bombs and sank ten to fifteen minutes later.
About 1,000 men were lost in the bombing of the three ships with only eight from the five hundred evacuees on board SS Slamat surviving the sinkings.
He is commemorated on the Athens Memorial Face 8.

Leeman, Patrick Ian, son of Percival Garmany Leeman MC MB, of Derby, and Clare Grace Ellen, d. of Robert MacGregor of Durban; b. 8 Apr. 1922; adm. Sept. 1935 (R); left Apr. 1939; Sgt Pilot RAFVR, killed in action 8 Nov. 1941.

Patrick Ian “Paddy” Leeman was born at Derby, Derbyshire on the 22nd of July 1922 the son of Dr. Percival Garmany Leeman MC, MB and Clare Grace Ellen (nee Macgregor) Leeman of 100, Douglas Street, Osmaston Road, Derby, later of “The Lawn”, Burton Road, Littleover in Derbyshire.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1935 to April 1939. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1940 where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Sergeant.
On the night of the 7th/8th of November 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 101 Wellingtons, 42 Whitleys, 17 Stirlings and 9 Halifaxes for an operation on Berlin. The weather forecast over the North Sea was very poor with storms, thick cloud, icing and hail. This led the commanding officer of No. 5 Group to insist that his crews be sent to Cologne instead of Berlin but his request was ignored. 73 aircraft reached Berlin where were unable to observe the results of their bombing but they reported seeing a number of fires on the outskirts of the city. The authorities in Berlin reported widespread damage with 1 industrial building, 2 railways, 30 houses and 2 public buildings being damaged or destroyed. A gasometer at Saaken was burnt out. 11 people were killed on the ground with 44 injured and 637 people were bombed out of their homes.
Patrick Leeman and his crew took off from RAF Mildenhall at 5.26pm on the 7th of November 1941 in Wellington Mk IC X9878 OJ-A for the operation. Having completed their mission they were on the return leg of their journey and were in the area of Essen when they were hit by anti aircraft fire but were able to continue. A short time later the aircraft was flying at 8,000 feet near Wesel when it was hit again, twice in the nose and in the rear turret. It was then attacked and shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf110 night fighter flown by Oberfeldwebel Wilhelm Engel of 7./NJG1. The aircraft crashed near to Isselburg at 12.47am local time with the loss of all but one of the crew. Theirs was one of an eventual 18 victories for Wilhelm Engel who survived the war.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Herbert Roy Crowe RCAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Stanley William Dane (Pilot)
Sergeant Albert Charles Arthur Davis (Observer)
Sergeant Patrick Ian Leeman (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant John Charles Pengelly (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Frederick Jenkinson (Rear Gunner) (POW No. 6439 Stalag Luft VII)
Thiers was one of twenty one aircraft which were lost during the raid.
The crew was buried at North Cemetery, Dusseldorf but their bodies were exhumed in July 1946 by No. 4 Missing, Research and Enquiry Unit, Royal Air Force and moved to their present location.
The only survivor, rear gunner Frederick Jenkinson, later reported that he managed to get out of the damaged rear turret with great difficulty after using an axe. He related that he saw no one in the fuselage and that he and William Dane were both onboard when Dane crash landed the aircraft. Dane was killed in the crash with Jenkinson being injured and taken prisoner.
Due to the heavy losses it would be another fourteen months before Bomber Command launched another raid on Berlin.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Littleover.
He is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Joint Grave 11 B 7-8.

Bunting, Paul Lidgett, brother of Christopher Evelyn Bunting (qv); b. 29 Dec. 1926; adm. Sept. 1941 (H); left July 1944; Trin. Coll. Camb., matric. 1944; RN (FAA); accidentally killed on active service 5 July 1946.

Paul Lidgett Bunting was born at Queen’s Road, Bayswater, London on the 29th of December 1926 the son of Sheldon Arthur Steward Bunting MA, MBE, MICE, BSc an engineer for the Indian Public Works Department, and Kathleen (nee Collett) Bunting of 33, Kingsley Way, Hampstead, London N2 and of Northleach, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1941 to July 1944. He matriculated for Trinity College, Cambridge on the 1st of October 1944 as a Royal Navy Officer Cadet. He was posted to the Royal Naval School of Music near Burford, Oxfordshire.
On the night of the 4th/5th of July 1946, Paul Bunting was one of a number of Marines who were traveling in a lorry while returning from leave in Cheltenham to their base at Burford. At midnight the lorry was in collision with a civilian lorry at Hangman’s Stone, near Northleach. He died at the scene from a fracture to the base of his skull; his body was taken to Northleach mortuary.
The dead and injured were: -
Musician Charles Walter Montgomery (Died from injuries at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford) Musician G. De Peyer (Injured)
Musician Paul Lidgett Bunting
Musician B. Farmer (Injured)
Marine L. Midham (Head injuries)
Coporal C.W. Freeland

An inquiry was held into the accident which concluded that the naval lorry had been traveling over the centre line of the road at a speed of 30-35 miles per hour when the collision occurred. The Coroner concluded: - “There is no evidence here of undue speeding, and I think of the two drivers concerned, Ogden, the Royal Marine driver, was to blame for the collision. Whatever carelessness there was on his part amounts to nothing more than to justify me recording a verdict of misadventure.”
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Trinity College, Cambridge.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Panel 94.

Blake, Geoffrey Alan Stanford, son of Henry Edward Blake MRCS, and Gwendoline May, d. of Stanley Stanford of Edgbaston, Warks; b. 18 July 1922; adm. Sept. 1935 (H); left Dec. 1939; RAF (LAC), killed on active service 6 April 1941.

Geoffrey Alan Stanford Blake was born at Lambeth, South London on the 22nd of April 1922 the only son of Dr Henry Edward Blake MRCS and Gwendoline May (nee Stanford) Blake of Edgbaston in Warwickshire and of 98, Gloucester Place, Hyde Park in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1935 to December 1939. He played at goalkeeper for the Football XI in 1939. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and achieved Certificate A in March 1939.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and was posted to No. 5 Service Flying Training School based at RAF Tern Hill for pilot training.
At 3.10am on the 6th of April 1941, Geoffrey Blake took off for a solo night training flight in Master Mk I T8569. At the time he had accumulated a total of 45.55 hours of total solo flying time of which 17 hours were on Master aircraft. As the aircraft lifted off it collided with the roof of a hangar, causing the aircraft to crash and burn out, killing him.
His funeral took place on the 10th of April 1941.
The Elizabethan wrote of him: - “Most members of the School will remember well his consistent cheerfulness and the grace and agility with which he kept goal for the School during his last term.”
He is buried at St Peter’s Church, Stoke-Upon-Tern Row F Grave 212.